We Have a Responsibility to "Market" EMT City

[Don1977]

I have referred like 4 people to this site, but I will not donate sorry. If I donate money I better become a MOD or someone with more priviledges. sorry.

[captainstandup]

Great idea!

Its already been done several times over the last year or so...

for all those interested, here is the link to the poster.

http://www.emtcity.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9171

(search function capt is your friend...lol )

I suppose I need to go to emtcity kindergarten, I seem to experience a great deal of trouble with the search functions here. At times I search and it will return several hundred matches. I want to be as responsible as possible on here but I don't have the time nor desire to read through 400 posts to ensure I haven't duplicated a topic or thread or copied another person's thoughts. Please forgive me as I learn how to communicate within the etiquette of "the city" I'm working on it, I promise.

[captainstandup]

I'm not trying to provoke or make you mad Capt with what I say but let me ask you this.

Are you planning on donating to the site?

Are you planning on taking that flyer and putting it up at your workplace?

What other things are you planning on doing to promote this site?

I've done both in the past 3 1/2 years that I've been here.

I've simply got to do something to impress on you folks that I am really a nice guy, I am you know! You didn't make me mad and yes I will donate and yes I am putting the posters up at work and I too tell everyone I can about the site. Perhaps I shouldn't have used the term responsibility? I was merely trying to articulate the idea that as frequent users of the site it wouldn't hurt all of us to seriously support the vehicle for our desire to communicate.

I've never met anyone on emtcity yet in a strange was I consider many of you friends. I have had discussions, arguments, spirited debate and a few people that seem to hate me on here. I've been put in my place more times than I can count but, you know, I never get mad because I know this makes me stronger, more articulate and results in tiny improvements in the person I am and the care I deliver. Prior to emtcity I did not have a medium that "worked for me" In my opinion there is far more intellectual content on emtcity than any other site.

Hey I just don't want to be a squatter here that does nothing in return.......

[Just Plain Ruff]

very well said cap.

[WANTYNU]

I've simply got to do something to impress on you folks that I am really a nice guy….. the idea that as frequent users of the site it wouldn't hurt all of us to seriously support the vehicle for our desire to communicate.

I've never met anyone on emtcity yet in a strange was I consider many of you friends. I have had discussions, arguments, spirited debate and a few people that seem to hate me on here. I've been put in my place more times than I can count but, you know, I never get mad because I know this makes me stronger, more articulate and results in tiny improvements in the person I am and the care I deliver. Prior to emtcity I did not have a medium that "worked for me" In my opinion there is far more intellectual content on emtcity than any other site.

Hey I just don't want to be a squatter here that does nothing in return.......

Capt,

First in my eyes you are making a contribution, you post. As far as being beaten up, we all have our scars, and if you don’t well you’re not trying.

I agree, we need to support any ACTIVE forum of communication, an adage coined by Edward Bulwer-Lytton “The Pen is mightier than the sword” is saying in essence the sharing of ideas has more power to foster change then any war can. We are lucky we have a (fairly) open society with the right of free speech and the internet to share ideas, in the turn of the last century some groups were forced to meet in secret under threat of bodily harm in order to share ideas.

There have been many threads dedicated to the problems with and within EMS, it is a good thing you recognize how lucky you are to have a place to share ideas and learn, and a better thing that you wish to support its continuance.

Don’t worry about being liked or disliked by others on this forum, we after all constitute a large variance of experience and maturity, some criticize based on ignorance, most others have a valid point of view, you only need to listen unemotionally to filter out the nonproductive nonsense. Remember “what doesn’t kill you will make you stronger” and “sticks and stones may break your bones, but names will never harm you”.

In other words, don’t worry, keep posting!

As Always IMHO

Be Safe,

WANTYNU

[Eydawn]

I like the idea of voluntary donations. I will not argue that I have benefited greatly from perusing the forums here and participating in active discussions... however, as a college student who's struggling to scrape by at the moment, I simply do not have the money to send in. That's part of the appeal of this site... as it continues to grow and my finances straighten out, I may contribute with cash, rather than my thoughts.

I must say, I really don't like knowing who's donated and who hasn't. The fact that people who've donated get a million stars automatically seems to cheapen the act of participation here. There are many of us who have attempted to establish our credibility with posts of substance, who have been unable to give financially... and yet, there are some who have not posted much who have given, and thus get the status stars above their name.

The money is important. I click the ads. I look around to see if there's things I can do to help the City (coaxing n00bs to relax and learn how forums work, for one, rather than stomping them to pulp).

But once you make this a "pay to be a big shot" or "pay because you've benefited from something here or you're a loser" site, you lose the environment you have striven to create...

Just my thoughts on the matter.

Wendy

CO EMT-B

[CodeBlueEMT]

Successful online forums market themselves. It's all about the members. It's about the first impression a visitor gets looking around. I peruse the posts daily. If I'm inclined to reply, I will. There is always a core group of members that set the tone for any online forum. Those members are responsible for the success or failure of the site. You can donate money, promote the site, get site sponsors, etc. etc. etc. When I read topics like this on a site, it's already in trouble.

Shayne

[EMT City Administrator]

Successful online forums market themselves. It's all about the members. It's about the first impression a visitor gets looking around. .... ...... When I read topics like this on a site, it's already in trouble.

Shayne

I agree.. forums do market themselves. It is all about the members. I am not sure if we are in trouble.. in fact, just the opposite.

[snoop2468a]

I am a newbie here, just arrived. I have been in EMS since 1975. I found EMT city by a google search. Maybe some promotion of this site nationally?

[Dustdevil]

I am a newbie here, just arrived. I have been in EMS since 1975. I found EMT city by a google search. Maybe some promotion of this site nationally?

Welcome, Snoop! We're at around the same experience level, and I too arrived here quite coincidentally through a Google search. I was looking for info on a specific topic, and EMT City was one of the first links to come up. I bookmarked the site, but only lurked occasionally for about a year. Then, when I needed to refresh myself in order to re-enter the field after a hiatus, I ended up back here. I figured that just lurking in on the conversations of those active in the field might help me, and it certainly did. So I stayed. And then it only takes that one topic to pique your interest enough to reply before you take that plunge and become active on the forum. Professionals are easily hooked at that point. And, for the most part, that is what we end up with as a core membership here. Professionals, whether paid or otherwise. And I believe that is something that sets us apart from other forums. Although it doesn't make everyone happy, EMT City caters to the serious professional and intellectual element of EMS, and not the whackers. Even those here who are still only volunteers, EMT students, and even high school students just looking forward to the future, are usually those with a more serious commitment than the tourist element you find at other sites, that encourage the "we are teh aw3some lifesavers!!!11" cheerleading nonsense, where the most important topics are the best LEDs for your POV, and where to find the fastest and cheapest paramedic school.

I am with the Captain on this one. This place gives us something that the NAEMT has failed to give us in three decades. And it gives me more education than I ever got in three decades of con-ed. Anybody who isn't getting significant educational benefits from this site simply isn't trying, and should pull their head out of the chatroom and Funny Stuff forums every now and then. To me, that is worth promoting and supporting in any way I can.

I couldn't afford to support this place when I first came here. But as I began to reap the benefits here, I vowed to give back when the day came that I could afford to, and I have. It didn't buy me chatroom moderator status, nor did I want or expect it to. Heck, long before I ever donated here, I saw a site contributor banned for misconduct, so I knew better than to expect any special favours. I just don't get EMTDON's "what's in it for me?" attitude. But the point is, all except the greenest n00bs here know what we make in EMS. Consequently, nobody -- certainly not Admin -- expects a large number of people to drop a Ben Franklin here. If you do, great. But as has already been pointed out, the best way to contribute to this site is through quality participation. Quality participation makes this site more attractive to newcomers, resulting in the very best kind of contribution, and growth for the forum.

Beyond that, when I needed a new stethoscope, I made sure to click on an EMT City advertiser's link to buy it. Same when I bought my old lady's stethoscope. Same when I needed some scrub suits. I have bought books and widgets from multiple advertisers and members here at the forum, because I feel that "responsibility" that the Captain speaks of. I think I would call it more of a sort of moral obligation than an actual responsibility, myself. But, since supporting this site and it's membership is the responsible thing to do, then "responsibility" certainly isn't an improper term. Listen, if you're going to buy that stuff anyhow, why not take a moment to buy from a sponsor or advertiser and help support the site? That's the way I look at it.

If there's a way to take this nationally, as Snoop suggests, I'm down with that. Hell, I'd like to see this site replace the NAEMT as a national spokesman for the profession. I'd sure be willing to travel and staff an exhibitor booth at an EMS conference to promote the site, and I am sure others would too. Just think of it; it is, for the most part, the serious ten percenters in EMS that even go to those events, so imagine the benefits we could get from recruiting more of them here.

But really, it all comes back to the original post here. We can all do our part to promote the site, and by extension, promote the profession. All it takes is a little grassroots word of mouth. Got a friend or partner who is a serious professional that wants to discuss the issues, or just expand his perspective or professional knowledge? Do him a favour. Give him the link. Got a partner who is a total slug and really needs a clue? Again, do him a favour and send him our way. Your preaching to him does no good if he continues to think you're just one lone jerk trying to make his fun job hard. Let him come here and see that he is the one out of step with the state of the art. But most of all, send the n00bs here! Send us those blank slates that are just looking for a professional example to emulate. Those who do not yet have any wide perspective on the profession. Those who, so far, only know what they see in their little corner of the EMS world. Let's all work to expand their minds and their perspectives. To see it all, from all angles. Give them the intellectual tools and motivations from which to build a solid professional foundation, and encourage them ever forward.

That's what's in it for you. You get a better quality of people to work with, and by extension, a better profession. When I support EMT City, I don't even see it as supporting the website. I see it as supporting my profession. And if we continue to FAIL to support our own profession, we cannot continue to be surprised that nobody else supports us.